Dye wheel



Aug. 22, 1939. M. J. GOODWIN DYE WHEEL Filed Sept. 9, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORL Z/Q f f a A I 455 ATTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

tfn w %z'sATToRNEYs M. J. GOODWIN DYE WHEEL Filed Sept. 9, 1957 fin AM 5. RM

Aug. 22, 1939.

Aug. 22, 1939. M. J. GOODWIN DYE WHEEL Filed Sept. 9, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3' Ewe/T BY 5 R H MM m Patented Aug. 22, 1939 r UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DYE. WHEEL Melville J. Goodwin, Needham, Mass, assignor to The Pfaudler Gm, Rochester, N. Y., a. corporation of New York Application September 9, 1937, Serial No. 163,088 2 Claims. (01. 68-144) This invention relates to dye wheels, or drums, cessive batches of varying colors and treating for tanning, dyeing or otherwise treating leather, solutions. fabric and other materials, one object of the in- It has been found that these and other dif- Vention being to provide an improved device of ficulties in the use of prior machines have been this nature having an non-corrosive type of conovercome by employing a type of construction in 5- struction impervious to attack by the treating which the inside of the wheel presents a subfluids and incapable of injuring the materials to stantially continuous: and impervious glass surbe treated. face to the contents. This has been accom- Another object is to provide a more ei'licient plished by employing, preferably, a one-piece Y apparatus of this nature which may be easily and steel drum having cylindrical side walls Iii and 10 thoroughly cleaned to prevent contamination of dished end walls II and I2, the drum being the contents, and so that it may be quickly and mounted for rotation about its cylindrical axis conveniently prepared for different successive disposed horizontally in suitable bearings. treatments of materials. The supporting means comprise trunnions i3 A further object is to provide such an apparaand i4, both of which in the present instance are 15 tus requiring a minimum amount of power for of hollow construction for supplying the treatoperation and a minimum amount of maining fluid. One of these trunnio-ns, as shown in tenance, labor and expense during use. detail in Fig. 5, comprises a bearing member se- To these and other ends the invention resides cured by suitable brackets l5 to the correspondin certain improvements and combinations of ing end of the drum. Extending through the '0 parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully debearing member and communicating with the scribed, the novel features being pointed out in interior of the drum is a sleeve I6 of stainless the claims at the end of the specification. steel, or other suitable non-corrosive material, In the drawings: threaded at its end for attachment by any known Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a dye wheel emor suitable means to a pipe line. Such bearing 25 bodying the present invention; members are mounted in journal boxes I! on Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same partly supporting frames l8, and suitable means in section; provided for rotating the drum, such as the Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View on the line annular gear wheel 19, for connection with a 3a. in Fig. 2; pinion (not shown) driven by a suitable source of 30 Fig. 4 is a further enlarged sectional view on power, as well understood in the art. the line 40, in Fig. 3; The inner surface of the drum is provided with Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 50. ina glass lining or coating 2!} (Figs. 5, '7, and 8) of Fig. 1; any of the suitable varieties well known in the 5 Fig. 6 is an enlarged elevation of a manhole art and adapted to resist the action of corrosive shown in Fig. 1; materials generally such, for example, as acid Fig.7 is a sectional view on the line to in y e at Substantial p The Fig. 1 6, and term glass is intended to include all such vitre- Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view on the line ous coatings. generally. 8a in Fig. '7. The walls of the drum are equipped with 40 The same reference numerals throughout the fingers or pins for lifting, dropping and otherseveral views indicate the same parts. wise stirring the skins during the rotation of the In the embodiment herein disclo ed by wa of drum and these pins likewise are constructed illustration, the invention is shown as applied to with glass surfaces. In the preferred embodia wheel or drum particularly adapted for tanning merit, each of these pins 2| has a hollow metal 45 and dyeing leathers. The operation of such macore construction, as shown in Fig. 4. The chines hitherto has been accompanied by a conmetal wall 22 is provided with a glass lining 23, siderable loss of material, due to the scarring of such as described above, covering the whole exthe skins by wood or metal-lined wheels. The posed surface of the pin. The metal body of the operation of such machines has also been pin has rigidly fixed in its base a bolt 24 passing 50 hampered by the difficulty, after use, of through an opening 25 in the cylindrical wall of thoroughly cleaning them of all dyes, fleshy dethe drum and equipped with a washer 26 and a posits, grease, and the like, to prevent contaminanut and lock nut 27 and 28, respectively. Intertion of one batch by another and so that the posed between the base of the pin and the glass same machine may be conveniently used for suclining of the drum is a gasket 29 of any suitable 55 material, and it will be apparent from this construction that by clamping the nuts 21 and 28, the pin 2! may be rigidly secured to project inwardly from the drum wall. A series of any desired number of such pins is employed and spaced around the periphery of the drum so as to engage, lift and drop the skins into the treating fluid and bring about thorough working and treatment. While a glass coated hollow metal pin is shown in the present instance, it is obvious that other equivalent structures may be employed.

For the insertion and removal of the skins or other articles to be treated, one end of the drum is provided with a manhole or opening 36 and a closure 3! for the same, pivoted as at Ma, as'

best shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. To form the opening, the drum wall is flanged outwardly as at 32 and has welded thereto an extension flange .33, the outer end of which is turned back substantially parallel with the adjacent end wall of the drum, as at 35, to form a seat for the closure 3!. The glass lining is continued as shown to the extremity of this flange. The closure 3! is formed, as shown, with a flat marginal flange portion 35, which is provided with a gasket 36 of any suitable material.

The means for clamping the closure or cover 3! on the manhole comprises preferably a yoke, or ring, 3?, which is in the form of two semicircles embracing the outer periphery of the manhole flange with their ends bolted together as at 3B. This yoke carries pairs of spaced lugs 39 and between the lugs of each of these pairs a bracket lii is secured as by means of a bolt M. A swinging clamping bolt 62 is mounted in each bracket as shown and carries a clamping bar 43. Each bar 53 is extended as at M to provide a sliding supporting bearing on its bracket 48, and has also an extension 135 over the flange 35 of the cover 3 I. A rod 46 is welded on the flange of the cover to provide a lip over which the extension 45 of the clamping bar is engaged. Each bolt 42 is equipped with a wing nut 47 by means of which the cover may be clamped down to close the manhole, or released by unscrewing the nut and swinging the clamp outwardly about the bolt 6! as a pivot, after which the cover'may be swung open about its own pivot am. At 48 is a brass rod brazed to the lugs 39 on each half of the yoke 37, to provide a seat for the yoke against the under side of the manhole flange 34.

An outlet for draining the drum is provided by means of the discharge pipe 453, shown in Figs. 1 and 2, for any known or suitable closing means indicated generally at 59.

In operation, the skins or other articles to be tanned, dyed, or otherwise treated, are inserted through the manhole, which is then closed, and the treating fluids are supplied through one of the hollow trunnions. The drum is slowly rotated by means of the gear ring I 9. and, as it rotates, the glass coated pins, 21, pick up and elevate the skins and drop them into the fluid so that they are thoroughly stirred and treated. The friction generates sufficient heat for the treatment, although a heating medium may be supplied through the trunnions l3 and H, but the glass lining and metal construction limit and distribute the heating effect, so that the skins are not scorched, scarred or otherwise injured.

It will be seen from the above description that the wheel is so constructed as to have a substantially continuous inner surface of glass, which is non-corrosive and impervious to attack by acids or other treating fluids. The smooth, non-corrosive glass surface is incapable of injury to skins or other. articles during treatment, and after the treatment is completed the wheel is capable of being readily and thoroughly cleaned of dyes, acids, fleshy deposits and other soiling substances, so that it will not contamimate the materials of the next treatment. For this reason the Wheel is adapted to be readily employed for a succession of different treatments, using, different colors or other fluids, without contaminating one batch by another. These advantages are contributed in part by an efficient type of pin construction in which at least the exposed portions of the pins are glass coated, and the pins are ruggedly made and rigidly secured to the drum. The manhole and closure, supply and discharge connections, and other auxiliary features of the drum are efiiciently constructed and arranged, so that the apparatus as a whole is exceedingly convenient, durable and efiicient in character.

I claim:

1. A dye wheel comprising a rotary, glasslined, metal drum having in its walls a-series of openings, a series of bolts extending through said openings, glass-coated, hollow metal stirring pins on the ends of said bolts inside said drum, means for sealing said openings around said bolts, and securing means on the ends of said bolts outside said driun for rigidly securing said bolts and pins in position on said walls.

2. A dye wheel comprising a rotary, glasslined, metal drum having in its walls a series of openings, glass stirring devices on the inside of said drum, elements extending through the wall openings for supporting the stirring devices, and means on. the outside of the wall for clamping said elements to the outside of the wall and thereby rigidly supporting the stirring devices on the inside of the wall, said stirring devices and inner wall of the drum presenting a substantially continuous imperviousglass coating to the contents of said drum MELVILLE J. GOODWIN. 

